Vanuatu

The Republic of Vanuatu, located in the south west Pacific, comprises a total land area of 12,195 sq km, made up of 83 islands, 70 of which are inhabited (Figure 59.1). Vanuatu was a former colony of Britain and France, jointly run under a Condominium government and known during that period as the New Hebrides or Nouvelles H�brides, until it gained its independence in 1980. The indigenous population (known as ni-Vanuatu) of about 220,000 today remains remarkably culturally and linguistically diverse (Bonnemaison et al. 1996; Sim�oni 2009). Most of the population practise a subsistence lifestyle and live in kin-based groups on their ancestral lands, practising a range of traditional or kastom beliefs. As a small, developing nation, Vanuatu has limited financial resources and consequently government priorities are focused on supporting and developing basic infrastructure